BACKGROUND STATEMENT: AFS EVOLUTION RESOLUTION The Debate over Teaching Evolution in Public Schools: Background of The American Fisheries Society Resolution Concerning the Teaching of Alternatives to Evolution

摘要

At the annual business meeting of the Education Section of the American Fisheries Society (AFS) in Lake Placid, New York, in September 2006, the Montana Chapter of AFS brought forward a draft resolution addressing teaching of evolution in public school science curricula. Support for the resolution was strong among those at the business meeting, and the Section agreed, with the consent of the Chapter, to adopt the project and develop a revised resolution to be put forward for adoption by the Society.The resolution was developed by the Education Section Executive Committee and put to the Section membership for a vote of approval. Upon approval by the Section (48 yes votes, 1 no vote), the resolution was forwarded to the Resolutions Committee of AFS,was approved (9 yes votes, 1 abstain and 2 no responses), and was forwarded for consideration by the Governing Board at the AFS Annual Meeting in San Francisco in September 2007. The resolution was approved by the Governing Board (unanimous vote) and presented to and officially adopted by the membership at the annual business meeting of the Society on 4 September 2007 (voice vote). What follows is a slightly revised version of the background document that was developed in support of the resolution and provided during the process of Section, committee, and membership votes. Only the resolution itself represents the official position of the American Fisheries Society; this document is provided for background information purposes only.